MULTI BARRELED COMPRESSED GAS CANNON WITH REUSABLE HOUSING

Abstract

A confetti cannon is an air gun configured to launch a payload of confetti and/or streamers. A trigger of the air gun selectively provides compressed air from a compressed gas cylinder to an outlet of the air gun in response to input from a user. A rotary housing has a plurality of base fittings, each configured to receive an end fitting from a shot tube or canister. The shot tube end fitting locks into the base fitting of the rotary housing. When fired, compressed gas from the outlet of the air gun passes into a canister aligned with the outlet, forcing a payload out of an end of the canister opposite the end fitting. The rotary housing is rotatable relative to the outlet to align a second canister with the outlet of the air gun such that the air gun is ready to expel a payload from the second canister.

Claims

1. An air gun comprising: a housing configured to receive compressed gas from a compressed gas cylinder; a base fitting supported by the housing, said base fitting configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister; and a trigger supported by the housing, wherein the trigger is configured to selectively provide compressed gas from the compressed gas cylinder to the base fitting via an output of the housing.

2. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing; and the main housing comprises an adapter, said adapter configured to receive the compressed gas cylinder.

3. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing; and the main housing comprises an adapter, said adapter configured to receive the compressed gas cylinder and pierce the compressed gas cylinder.

4. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; and the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing.

5. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; and each base fitting of the plurality of base fittings is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister.

6. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; each base fitting of the plurality of base fittings is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister; and the rotary housing is configured to rotate relative to the main housing.

7. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; each base fitting of the plurality of base fittings is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister; the rotary housing is configured to rotate relative to the main housing; and the rotary housing comprises a plurality of detents, each detent corresponding to a base fitting of the plurality of base fittings.

8. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; each base fitting of the plurality of base fittings is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister; the rotary housing is configured to rotate relative to the main housing; and the rotary housing comprises a plurality of detents, each detent corresponding to a base fitting of the plurality of base fittings; the air gun further comprises a detent ball extending between the main housing and the rotary housing, wherein the detent ball is configured to engage a detent of the plurality of detents such that the base fitting of the plurality of base fittings corresponding to the detent is aligned with the output of the main housing.

9. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; each base fitting of the plurality of base fittings is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister; the rotary housing is configured to rotate relative to the main housing; and the rotary housing comprises a plurality of detents, each detent corresponding to a base fitting of the plurality of base fittings; the air gun further comprises a detent ball extending from the main housing to the rotary housing, wherein the detent ball is biased toward the rotary housing and configured to engage a detent of the plurality of detents such that the base fitting of the plurality of base fittings corresponding to the detent is aligned with the output of the main housing.

10. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; each base fitting of the plurality of base fittings is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting of a canister; the rotary housing is configured to rotate relative to the main housing; and the air gun further comprises a seal extending between the output of the main housing and the rotary housing.

11. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the air gun further comprises the canister.

12. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the air gun further comprises the canister; the base fitting is a twist lock fitting; and the end fitting of the canister is a twist lock fitting corresponding to the twist lock fitting of the base fitting.

13. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the housing comprises a main housing and a rotary housing; the rotary housing comprises the base fitting; the rotary housing is supported by the main housing; the base fitting is one of a plurality of base fittings of the rotary housing; the air gun further comprises a plurality of canisters, each canister of the plurality of canisters configured to engage a base fitting of the plurality of base fittings via an end fitting of said canister.

14. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the air gun further comprises the canister; and the canister comprises: the end fitting; a cylinder extending forward from the end fitting; and a payload stored within the cylinder.

15. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the air gun further comprises the canister; and the canister comprises: the end fitting; a cylinder extending forward from the end fitting; a payload stored within the cylinder; and a covering opposite the end fitting, said covering configured to retain the payload within the cylinder until the trigger is actuated and compressed gas is provided from the compressed gas cylinder to the output of the housing and through the canister to dislodge the payload from the cylinder via the endcap.

16. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the air gun further comprises the canister; and the canister comprises: the end fitting; a cylinder extending forward from the end fitting; a payload stored within the cylinder; an inlet cap at the end fitting, said inlet cap configured to retain the payload within the cylinder until the trigger is actuated; and a covering opposite the end fitting, said covering configured to retain the payload within the cylinder until the trigger is actuated and compressed gas is provided from the compressed gas cylinder to the output of the housing and through the inlet cap and cylinder to dislodge the payload from the cylinder.

17. The air gun of claim 1, wherein: the air gun further comprises the compressed gas cylinder; and the compressed gas cylinder contains compressed carbon dioxide.

18. A canister for an air gun, said canister comprising: an end fitting configured to engage a base fitting of the air gun and receive compressed gas from the air gun; a cylinder extending forward from the end fitting; and a payload stored within the cylinder.

19. The canister of claim 18, wherein: the canister of further comprises an inlet cap at the end fitting, said inlet cap configured to retain the payload within the cylinder until the trigger is actuated.

20. The canister of claim 18, wherein: the canister further comprises a covering opposite the end fitting, said covering configured to retain the payload within the cylinder until compressed gas is provided through the end fitting and to the cylinder to dislodge the payload from the cylinder; and the payload comprises at least one of streamers or confetti.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an air gun according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the air gun of FIG. 1 shown with canisters.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a side cutaway view of the air gun of FIG. 2.

[0012] FIG. 4 is an end view of the air gun of FIG. 1.

[0013] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a canister for use with the air gun of FIGS. 1-4 according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0014] Reference will now be made in detail to optional embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawing and in the description referring to the same or like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments described herein, a number of terms are defined below. The terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as a, an, and the are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but rather include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as set forth in the claims.

[0016] As described herein, an upright position is considered to be the position of apparatus components while in proper operation or in a natural resting position as described herein. As used herein, the upright or vertical position of a gun or firearm is when assembled and held by a shooter, ready to shoot (i.e., fire or discharge), with the bore of the barrel of the gun extending generally horizontally or level along a longitudinal axis and the trigger extending generally downward. Vertical, horizontal, above, below, side, top, bottom and other orientation terms are described with respect to this upright position during operation unless otherwise specified. The term when is used to specify orientation for relative positions of components, not as a temporal limitation of the claims or apparatus described and claimed herein unless otherwise specified. The terms above, below, over, and under mean having an elevation or vertical height greater or lesser than and are not intended to imply that one object or component is directly over or under another object or component.

[0017] The phrase in one embodiment, as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, can, might, may, e.g., and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without operator input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

[0018] The terms coupled and connected mean at least either a direct electrical or mechanical connection between the connected items or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices.

[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, in one embodiment, an air gun 100 (e.g., confetti cannon) includes a housing 103, a base fitting 105, and a trigger 107. The housing 103 is configured to receive compressed gas from a compressed gas cylinder 109. In one embodiment, the compressed gas in the compressed gas cylinder 109 is carbon dioxide. The base fitting 105 is supported by the housing 103 and is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting 141 of a canister 303 (e.g., shot tube). The trigger 107 is supported by the housing 103. The trigger 107 is configured to selectively provide compressed gas from compressed gas cylinder 109 (e.g., compressed gas tank) to the base fitting 105 via an output 301 of the housing 103.

[0020] In one embodiment, the housing 103 includes a main housing 131 having an adapter 151 configured to receive the compressed gas cylinder 109. In one embodiment, the adapter 151 is configured to pierce the compressed gas cylinder 109 to receive compressed gas from the compressed gas cylinder 109. In one embodiment, the housing 103 includes the main housing 131 and a rotary housing 133 supported by the main housing 131. The rotary housing 133 includes the base fitting 105, and the base fitting 105 is one of a plurality of base fittings on the rotary housing 133. Each base fitting 105 is configured to receive a corresponding end fitting 141 of the canister 303. The rotary housing 133 is configured to rotate about a centerpoint thereof relative to the main housing 131 such that different base fittings 105 of the rotary housing may be aligned with the output 301 of the housing (e.g., outlet of the main housing 131). In one embodiment, the rotary housing 133 includes a plurality of detents 137, each detent 137 corresponding to a base fitting 105 of the plurality of base fittings 105 of the rotary housing 133. In one embodiment, the air gun 100 further includes the detent ball 135 extending between the main housing 131 and the rotary housing 133. In one embodiment, extends from the main housing 131 to the rotary housing 133 and is biased toward the rotary housing 133. That is, when the detent ball 135 extending from the main housing 131 engages a given detent 137, the corresponding base fitting 105 is aligned with the output 301 of the housing 103 (e.g., output of the main housing 131). In one embodiment, the air gun 100 (or housing 103) further includes a seal 161 extending between the output 301 of the main housing and the rotary housing 131 (e.g., to the base fitting 105).

[0021] Referring especially to FIGS. 3 and 5, in one embodiment, the air gun 100 further includes the canister 303 (i.e., shot tube). The base fitting 105 of the housing 103 and the end fitting 141 of the canister 303 are complementary or corresponding twist lock fittings (e.g., a half turn twist locks). Alternatively, the base fitting 105 may be threaded with threads complementary to threads of the end fitting 141 of the canister 303. In one embodiment, the canister includes the end fitting 141, a cylinder 307, a payload 305, an inlet cap or cover 145, and a covering 143 (e.g., outlet covering or cover). The cylinder 307 extends forward (away from the trigger 107 and main housing 131) from the end fitting 141. The payload 305 (e.g., confetti and/or streamers) is stored within the cylinder 307. The inlet cap or cover 145 is at the end fitting 141 (either at the end of the canister 303 opposite the covering 143 or between the end fitting 141 and the cylinder 307) and configured to retain the payload 305 within the cylinder 307 until the trigger 107 is actuated and compressed gas is passed into the canister 303 from the compressed gas cylinder 109 via the housing 100. The inlet cap 145 may break or dislodge when the trigger 107 is actuated. The covering 143 (i.e., outlet cover) is at the end of the canister 303 opposite the end fitting 141 (either over the end of the cylinder 307 or lodged in the end of the cylinder 307) and is configured to retain the payload 305 within the cylinder 307.

[0022] In one embodiment, the air gun 100 includes a plurality of canisters 303, each canister 303 engaging a base fitting 105 of the plurality of base fittings 105 in the rotary housing 133, and the payloads 305 are one of confetti and/or streamers.

[0023] In one embodiment, an air gun 100 is configured to shoot canisters 303 filled with confetti and/or streamers. The air gun 100 takes a compressed gas cylinder 109 (e.g. standard CO2 cylinder) and provides, via a trigger 107, the compressed gas to an outlet 301 of the housing 103 of the air gun 100. A rotary housing 133 receiving a plurality of canisters 303 is rotatably attached to the front of the main housing 131 of the air gun 100. A detent ball 135 extending from the main housing 131 aligns a barrel or canister 303 of the rotary housing 133 with the outlet 301 of the air gun 100. When the air gun 100 is fired via the trigger 107, the compressed gas is provided to the output 301 and transferred into the rotary housing 133 and a base fitting 105 of the rotary housing 133 aligned with the output 301 of the main housing 131 via a corresponding detent 137. The base fitting 105 provides the compressed gas to the canister 303 attached to the base fitting 105 via a corresponding end fitting 141 of the canister 303. First and second coverings 143, 145 in the canister are broken or dislodged to allow the payload in the canister (e.g., streamers and/or confetti) to exit the canister 303. The rotary housing 133 can be spun to the next detent 137 in the rotary housing 133 to align a next canister 303 attached to the rotary housing 133. Canisters 303 that have been shot out can be replaced such that the main housing 131 and rotary housing 133 are reusable. Only the compressed gas cylinder 109 and canisters 303 need to be replaced or refilled.

[0024] In on embodiment, a confetti cannon includes an air gun 100 and a plurality of shot tubes or canisters 303. The air gun has two primary sections; a main housing 131 and a rotary housing 133. The rotary housing 133 is connected to the main housing 131 at a center of the rotary housing 133, and the rotary housing 133 is rotatable about the center of the rotary housing 133. The main housing 131 includes a detent ball 135 extending forward from the main housing 131 to the rotary housing 133. The rotary housing 133 includes a plurality of base fittings 105, each configured to receive a shot tube or canister 303. The shot tubes or canisters 303 each include an end fitting 141 configured to twist lock into the base fitting 105. In one embodiment, the base fitting twist lock is a half turn twist lock fitting. In another embodiment, the twist lock includes complementary threads on each of the end fitting 141 and the base fitting 105. The rotary housing 133 includes a plurality of detents 137, each corresponding to a base fitting 105 such that when the detent 137 engages the detent ball 135, the base fitting 105 is aligned with an outlet 301 of the main housing 131 of the air gun 100.

[0025] In one embodiment, the main housing 131 of the air gun 100 includes an adapter 151 and a trigger 107. The adapter 151 is configured to receive a compressed gas cylinder 109 containing compressed gas (e.g., compressed CO2). The adapter 151 may pierce the compressed gas cylinder 109. The trigger 107 is configured to provide compressed gas from the compressed gas cylinder 109 to an outlet 301 of the main housing 131 in response to receiving input from a user. In one embodiment, the air gun 100 further includes a regulator configured to provide the pressurized gas from the compressed gas cylinder to the outlet 301 at a pressure lower than a pressure of the compressed gas cylinder. The main housing 131 may further include a shot chamber between the regulator and the trigger 107 to collect compressed gas at the reduced pressure provided by the regulator. In one embodiment, a stock or handle of the main body 131 is configured to retain the compressed gas cylinder 109 therein. In one embodiment, the main housing 131 of the air gun 100 is formed largely of plastic with certain high pressure or stress parts (e.g., tubing, regulators, and valves) for the high pressure gas formed of metal.

[0026] The canisters 303 or shot tubes include an end fitting 141, a main body 131, and at least one covering 143. The covering 143 may be formed of a portion of a streamer or confetti, or may be formed of cardboard or plastic. In one embodiment, the main body or cylinder 307 is formed of plastic and is generally cylindrical. The end fitting 141 is at a first end of the main body 307, and the covering 143 is at the opposing, second end of the main body 307. A payload 305 resides between the end fitting 141 and the second end (e.g., covering 143). Thus, the main body 307 forms a barrel of the cannon or air gun 100. In one embodiment, the payload 305 is packed within the main body 307 such that no separate covering is required at either end of the canister 303, and the air pressure from the main housing output 301 is sufficient to dislodge and expel the payload from the main body 307 of the canister 303. In one embodiment, the outlet 301 of the main body 131 seals to the rotary housing 133 when the detent ball 135 of the main housing 131 is received in a detent 137 of the rotary housing 133 (i.e., one of the plurality of base fittings 105 of rotary housing 133 is aligned with the outlet 301 of the main body 131 of the air gun 100).

[0027] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

[0028] It will be understood that the particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention. The principal features of this invention may be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims.

[0029] All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein may be made and/or executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of the embodiments included herein, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0030] Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of the present invention, it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims.